TORY councillors in the Kingdom want to talk rubbish with the procurator fiscal.

The Conservative group on Fife Council have called for discussions about the prosecution of those caught dumping waste.

Cllr Dave Dempsey said: "Fly-tipping is a scourge of our communities.

"The worst cases deserve prosecution but there’s a perception that the procurator fiscal is reluctant to do so.

"The best way to the truth of the matter is through dialogue, so we’ve proposed that the environment sub-committee should invite the fiscal to come and explain how the system actually works."

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) told the Press that a representative had already been in contact with the council and agreed to attend the committee.

Earlier this year, the head of the Crown's specialist wildlife and environment crime unit met representatives from the council’s safer communities team and explained how the work of the unit was undertaken and offered to work with the local authority to provide feedback on cases received from them.

A COPFS spokesperson said: “We engage regularly with the agencies who report crime to us and will continue to provide support to Fife Council to further their understanding of our work.

“The Crown is committed to the rigorous, fair and independent prosecution of environmental crime and careful consideration is given to any reports of alleged criminal conduct which are submitted by the police or any specialist reporting agency.

“Prosecutorial action will be taken if the reports contain sufficient admissible evidence of a crime and if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so.”

In the last four years, COPFS have received 227 reports in relation to fly-tipping for the whole of Scotland.